Painless
by millie-mione
Summary: They say that facing the truth sets people free, but what will it do for one whose past mistakes have profoundly hurt the people that are closest to her? PG-13 for abuse. The characters belong to renowned author J.K. Rowling.
1. Default Chapter

"No, Daddy. I won't give you the numbers again. It's not right for you to gamble," ten year-old Petunia said.

" But, Petunia. Daddy promises that he'll stop if you give him the numbers just one more time," Herbert Evans begged.

" You always promise, but you never keep your word. You always go and lose the money on bigger bets."

" Now, listen," he grunted as he grabbed her roughly by her shoulders and began shaking her violently. " I have done more than my share to support this family. Now, the least you that can do is show a little appreciation by giving me something in return!"

Frightened by her father's assault, Petunia said," Four, eight, one, three, six, five, eleven, and seven."

" Ooooooh, thank you so much, angel. You don't know just how much this means to daddy," he said hurriedly, not even bothering to stop and notice how he'd traumatized her.

Normally, she would've told mum, but she didn't feel like hearing them have another argument.

" Are you okay, Petunia?" Myrtle Evans asked as she entered the bedroom to arrange the laundry.

" Yes, mum."

" Are you sure? You know that there's nothing that you can't tell me," she assured.

" It's fine, mum."

" All right then. Go, and watch Lily for me," Mrs. Evans said not entirely sure about the truth of Petunia's statement.

Petunia gladly made distance between herself and her mother. She didn't want to explore or for that matter expound upon this morning's episode with her father.

"'Tuni'," five-year old Lily called out excitedly when she saw her.

" Hi, Lils,' " she said fighting the tears in her voice.

" Let's play that game that we played yesterday with the picture," Lily suggested.

How dare she? One person using her like a freak was enough, she didn't need two doing this to her.

" No! I'm not going to do it!" she snapped.

Lily frowned and began to cry.

" Oh, stop that. We'll do it, okay?" she said picking Lily up and sitting her beside her.

" No! I don't want to play with you anymore," Lily said wiping her eyes with her fists.

"I'm sorry."

" No! I'm still mad at you!"

" All right, then. That's that," she said slowly rising to leave the room.

" Wait a minute. Can we play with the Captain Howdy book that dad bought me for my birthday?"

" Not that one again," Petunia complained.

" But I like Captain Howdy," Lily explained.

" No. You're getting too big for books like those."

" But I like looking at the pictures."

" Lily, we won't play if you don't use another book."

" Oh, all right. I'll get 'Anne of Avonlea.'"

" No, that's a little too grown up. I was thinking about 'Nancy Drew' or 'Snow White' or something like that."

" If it's Snow White, can I be one of the seven dwarves?"

" All right. As long as you don't make me the wicked queen."

They headed for the back yard, laid out a picnic blanket, and sat the book propped open alongside them as they lay opposite each other touching heads.

" Pet," Lily called.

" Yes?"

" Please hold my hand until we get there. I don't like it when we float. It scares me."

" All right. I will, Lily."

"Good."

" Now remember to relax, and don't take your eyes off the picture."

" Okay."

The girls stared at the picture for nearly an hour before they felt themselves float away from their bodies. They landed at the steps of the wicked queen's castle.

"I'm going to be Snow White," Petunia said.

" No! I want to be Snow White," Lily whined.

" But you said that you wanted to be a dwarf."

"Let's both be Snow White."

" Lily," Petunia said and then sighed. She stopped herself from speaking: because, she realized that this was probably Lily's first attempt at reasonable compromise.

" Okay, Lily. We can both be Snow White."

" Thank you, Pet. You wear a blue dress, and I'll wear pink," Lily said.

" I hate wearing blue. It makes me look sick."

" Then wear green. You always look pretty in green."

" A green Snow White. There's something we don't see everyday."

" When the queen comes dressed up like the old lady, I'll eat the apple; because, I love you, Pet, and I don't want her to kill you," she said, almost crying at the thought.

" You little rascal, you just want the prince to kiss you," Petunia said to lighten her up. She knew that Lily was the consummate romantic. She didn't go a day without saying how she was going to have the perfect life with her knight in shining armor.

" When me and the prince go away, will you come with us?" Lily asked.

" I can't come with you. It'll be your special time alone with him."

" But mum and Aunt Cynthia still live near each other and talk to each other, and they have husbands."

" The story wouldn't be right."

" But we can do anything we want. We don't have to follow the rules. I know… I'll get you a prince too."

"No, Lily, we have to make our own stories. We can't always be together."

" Then I don't want to play anymore. Let's go back."

" Lily…"

"Now!"

" No! I'm not going to yield to you this time. You have to learn that everything will not always go your way. Now, I'd love to have you with me all the time too, but I know that one day, we will each have to live our own lives," Petunia explained. She wasn't quite sure if she meant to talk to Lily, or if she was affirming the truth for herself.

" Then let's stay here forever. We won't ever have to be apart here."

" Lily, we don't belong here. We're just visiting for fun."

Years later, forty year old Petunia knocked a magazine off the coffee table as she dusted her livingroom, and saw the picture of a family enjoying a barbecue in a yard similar to the one that she and Lily used to play in as children. The memory of their time together pierced her heart like a venomous fang. She felt the tears burn her eyes as they sprung forth like leaks.

She thought about Lily and the way that she died holding her son to her, and realized that all Lily had ever wanted was the security that came from being near people who cared about her.

Then she asked herself why she kept pushing her sister away for the sake of logic. Their relationship didn't have to turn out as badly as it did. Unfortunately, being the staunch person that she was, she just had to ruin their connection with her insistence upon being normal. She never hated her sister really. It was just that remembering the maniacal way that their father had exploited her talents somehow always made her feel so dirty. Finding sanctuary in normalcy was all that she could do to find peace and stability. Now, she felt that it just wasn't enough. She was missing something in her life.

After facing her pain, she began to wonder whether the astral world that she and Lily used to visit as children, had been more real than this one.

She stared at the picture again and pondered returning to the astral plane. She weighed her life here against the way that it could be there. She decided that the astral world was much better and decided to go upstairs and get Vernon's prescription back pills. She drew a cup of water from the face bowl and swallowed ten of them. They took effect almost immediately. She smiled as that familiar feeling slowly washed over her. She laughed enjoying the idea that she would escape this horrible life and never ever have to come back.


	2. Tip of the Iceberg

Petunia heard several whispers as she struggled to regain consciousness. It felt as if she were floating under water. It didn't take her long to consciously recall that she had recently tried to kill herself. Minutes later, after the foggy feeling wore off, she realized that she'd been brought to a hospital.

She felt the urge to move, but rethought the idea when she realized that her lower body was numb. She called out for a nurse or attendant to bring her some coffee for her pounding headache, and a talking medicine cabinet floated to her bedside.

Damn it! She was here in their world.

" Aunt Petunia," Harry said rushing to her side urgently. She saw that family of redheads enter behind Harry to support him.

" How did I get here?" she asked. She knew perfectly well how she got where she was, but she wanted to know how just much he knew about her and the reason that she was here.

" I called for help, but I forgot that they were repairing the lines from last night's storm, so I got to the Weasleys, and they brought you here. It was a strange thing, though, the way that they admitted you without asking any questions. Normally, muggles are a special case around here. In fact, I'd thought to ask Mr. Weasley if he could bring you to a muggle hospital, but I panicked, and let him bring you to the nearest place that he was familiar with. "

" Why didn't you get Mr. Prentice or Mrs. Figg? Didn't you ever stop to think that I could become the slightest bit unnerved by seeing medicine cabinets fly around while I'm trying to recover?" She knew that he meant her only the best, but she was having malicious fun until she caught sight of Dumbledore.

" It's good to see you, Mrs. Dursley," he said.

She could tell that this wasn't going to be good. She knew enough of him by now to be suspicious of his amiable tone. It usually indicated that he was plotting something. A sense of panic erupted through her like a mid day geyser, and she burst out,

" Look, whatever you're up to, it won't work! I don't yield to blackmailers, no matter how many secrets of mine they know." That was great! She'd just blown herself out of the water, but wait a minute. That was probably what he wanted all along, and she was stupid enough to play into the center of his greasy palm. 'Curse you, old man!' she thought.

" Contrary to what you may think, Mrs. Dursley, I want nothing more than for you to take a little time to recover," he said calmly.

There it was again, that tone. He wasn't going to get her again. No, sir! She was going to play it off just as or even more smoothly than he was doing presently. She watched him pace back and forth patiently as if he were trying to figure out what to say next. Gosh, that was unnerving! He was annoying her so that she couldn't even bother to pay attention to what he began to tell her.

" All right!" she shouted. "That's enough! Since you want the boy and everyone else under heaven to know the truth, then I'll be the one to tell it! I won't have you trying to twist facts around."

Everyone in the room looked around at her as if she 'd just taken leave of her senses. She didn' care. The only way to stop the old man was to beat him at his own game. Truth will out!

" Does any of you know what a recessive trait is?" she asked irritably.

She saw them all shake their heads. Okay, explaining this was going to be far more difficult than she thought.

" All right, then. Let's start at the beginning. Most of you are normal magic folk who share a dominant or latent trait that allows you to express magic externally. I, on the other hand, carry a recessive trait, which unfortunately, only allows me to express psychic force.

Now for the most part, I am clairvoyant. The unfortunate thing about being clairvoyant was that I had a father who took to gambling when he could no longer find work.

My personal tragedy came about because I was most imprudent in making a display of talent at age five. I first discovered it when mum was pregnant with Lily. Dad said that the baby was a boy, but I knew that it would be a girl. A week later, Lily was born.

I drew pictures of my baby sister, and pinned them on the refrigerator before they brought her home. My parents were impressed.

Now, my mother enjoyed my displays of talent for the sheer joy of the marvel, but my father sought these gifts out as a means for personal gain. He was at me night after night, second after second, pestering me for the names of winning horses or the winning lottery numbers. Quite frankly, it was frightening. At age ten, I tried with all of my might to put a stop to dad's behavior, but he got violent with me. You see, in his mind, he'd worked all of his life to give to the family, and it was time for me to give back to him.

Well, anyway to get to the real turning point of this fiasco, I'll tell you about my fifteenth birthday. Dad came home with a set of presents for me. Some were clothes, and others were perfume and make-up. He told me to get dressed and to put on the nice clothes. He also instructed me to put on the make-up as well.

He brought me down to a dock side casino in Glover's Wharf." She stopped talking and started to cry from embarrassment. Lord, what they must think of her for having gone to a seedy part of town like that.

" It's okay, dear," the red head woman said. She patted Petunia's heaving back and gave her a hug to stop her sniffling.

When Petunia finished, she said," he ordered me to write down a progressive list of numbers for him to roll when he approached the craps table. During the first hour, we made over seven thousand dollars. Now you know that when a person has luck that is too good, people become suspicious. That is why the owner had one of the waitresses keep an eye on dad and me. She escorted me to a table to sit down and have a drink. I knew that I wasn't old enough to imbibe alcohol, but the sheer thrill of feeling grown-up was simply exhilarating. In fact it was so exhilarating that I was too green and naïve to realize that she was loosening my tongue. So a bit later, I could barely stand up. I handed her numeric plays to bring to dad. Unbeknownst to me, he began losing and going into the hole. By the time my inebriation wore off, dad and I were sitting in the back room of the casino with the owner, a man by the name of Gus Fagin.

He informed us that dad was forty thousand in the hole. He wanted to know how we planned to pay it back. Dad suggested the house, but Gus didn't want it. Instead, he proposed that I work for him during my time away from Hogwarts. He wanted me to screen all his clients to tell him which ones were planning to cheat. He planned on paying me minimum wage."

" But how were you supposed to pay him back at that rate?" Fred asked.

" That was the catch. He never intended for me to be able to pay him back. He wanted me to be stuck there. I took shifts waiting tables to meet the debt better, and I can't tell you just how flirtatious the male customers could be. But anyway, a night came when I was so busy waiting tables that I forgot to screen a couple who had won over seventy thousand dollars. Gus brought them back, and then called for me to join him. He asked me how it was possible for them to win all that money, when he'd recently rigged the machines.

I confessed that I hadn't been screening the people, as I should, so he slapped me. That, however, was only the crust outside the bread.

The real problem came when he decided how he should deal with Donna and James, the young couple. He decided to play a sadistic mind game with me. He tied a blindfold around my eyes and had his lackeys pour liquor down my throat until I was finally drunk. That way he could be sure of my honesty. He told me to grope their palms and to tell him what would happen to them.

I answered that fishermen would find them after they'd been found stuffed in crates and drowned. Gus fulfilled this premonition, and although my memory was fuzzy, I knew that I had had something to do with their deaths when they'd later been discovered."

"Dear, Lord! Just what kind of monster was your father to let you be exposed to all this?" Aruthur Weasley asked.

" The kind that I arranged to have killed," she said. She watched the shock return to everyone's faces when she said this.

" You-Know-Who was rising at the time, and I wanted desperately to shake Gus. So I began going to Knockturn Alley to learn how to use my other gifts. I'd met a few future Death Eaters down there, and made alliances by doing favors for them like predicting where they should invest their money during the recession. In turn, they offered to assist me with my problem. I asked them to deal with Gus and dad. They went to the casino, and they wated until it was empty to cast a killing curse on Gus. He died of apoplexy, and they blew the casino up. Two weeks later, they went to the house to do dad, but I wasn't aware that mum would come home from my grandparents' farm so early. I didn't mean for her to die," she said covering her eyes as she burst into tears.

Harry's bottom lip dropped, and he asked," did mum know what you did?'

" Yes. She went to Professor Dumbledore and the others to get help. He insisted that I change my face, and he had a friend remove my name from the magical registry. Lily accompanied me back to the other side, and helped me find a job. I met Vernon, and you can guess the rest."

" Why did you feel that you had to go to such extremes to deal with your problems?" Harry asked.

" Harry, you must understand. Petunia didn't have the supportive connections that you do, and as I've told you before Petunia, your mother didn't die in the blast that killed your father. She died while trying to go inside the house to rescue him."

" But even still, that was just as good as having had her killed," Harry said.

" No, not necessarily. She was stubborn when it came to helping those that she loved. People tried to hold her back, but she insisted that her place be beside your grandfather during his time of need."

" You belong in Azkaban. You're just as evil as those Death Eaters you contracted with. I say we give her some veritaserum and make her tell us who the rest of the Death Eater party are!" Harry shouted. He always believed that she was awful, but he never knew just how awful she was until now. You would have thought that she'd be kinder to him given the fact that his mum and Dumbledore had protected her sorry arse from seeing the inside of Azkaban prison.

His mind switched back to Sirius. Why did Fate play so many twisted games? She and Sirius were both his guardians, and he, the innocent party, got sent to prison, while, she, a stinking murderess, got to escape and walk freely among decent people. He hated her more now than he ever had in his life. One way or another, he would make sure that she payed, whether it be by the hand of Moody or Tonks bringing her in, or his own hand. He promised himself as much.


	3. Don’t stare

Author's note 

Forgive me for taking so long, but I wanted to give you something worthy of reading, not any of the usual crap from my other stories. I hope that I did just that, and if I didn't, then pleaase, fell free to let me know how I can make it better for you. This is long, but it moves kind of fast. Anyway, thanks for your wonderful and awe-inspiring reviews of my previous work. - Millie-mione

" Don't stare. It's very rude!" Petunia snapped at Harry as he walked by. He'd been tiptoeing around her for the past three days, and she was just sick and tired of it.

" I wasn't staring at you," he said.

" Don't be smart," she commented.

"I…never mind," he said. He was more than sure that answering back would only lead to a big fight.

He prepared to go outside to mulch the flowers, and she said," stop. I haven't given you breakfast yet."

" I can't work on a full stomach," he said. Why was she so concerned about his nourishment all of a sudden? Was it her guilty conscience? Harry didn't know, but he enjoyed watching her go through her guilt. It was satisfying in a way.

" You'll do as I say," she said.

" I'm touched, Aunt Petunia, but I don't need anything, really," he added, hoping to rile her. He knew that what he was doing was rotten, but it felt so amazingly good to turn the tables on his abuser.

She gritted her teeth and threw her new copper skillet onto the floor, severing its black plastic handle. How dare he do this to her, the little monster? You'd think that he'd appreciate the gestures that she offered as of late, but no. He preferred to keep the bad feelings stirring between them. But then again, what had she offered him during his life but the cold shoulder? Maybe they were right when they said that payback was double the pain.

Harry sat at the table snickering, but as soon as he saw her finish cleaning the mess off the floor ad ascending the stairs, pangs of guilt kicked at his insides. He waited a while, and then started up after her.

He reached the door and then knocked.

" Go away, please!" she shouted.

" I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia," he said.

" Please, just go away," she said.

" All right, if that's what you want," Harry said pretending to walk away. He expected her to come running out of her bedroom any minute, but she didn't. He got worried. What if she'd tried to kill her self again, and succeeded this time?

Harry opened the door, and Petunia jumped up in shock.

" I told you to go away!" she whined.

To Harry, she looked the most ridiculous sight, and when she placed her head into her knees, she reminded him of his five-year old self when she used to lock him in his cupboard.

" You don't need to be alone right now; you're too upset," he said.

" Oh? And just what makes you so sure that I need you as company?" she asked, sounding like a six-year old.

" Well, I don't see anybody else around here that you can talk to," he commented hoping to lift her a bit with his witty comment.

" Don't be smart," she said.

He smiled, a gesture that she couldn't help but return.

"I'm glad that you're better now. I'll go and mulch the garden," he said.

" Wait. Don't mulch. We can do that later. Vernon and Diddy won't be back for another week and a half. I've got something better planned."

" Okay," Harry said, sounding a little bit confused.

" Follow me down, and grab the third magazine off the coffee table," she said.

" Yes, Aunt Petunia," he said.

They entered the first floor, and then went out into the backyard.

"Sit down beside me," she instructed after she pulled a piece of blue tarp off Uncle Vernon's new speedboat and laid it down.

Harry did, and she closed her eyes. He heard her hum a funny tune, and butterflies began to surround them, followed by a light mist that cooled them while they sat in the sun.

" Okay. Now we can begin," she said.

" What was that…" Harry asked before she shushed him

"A little exercise that I used to do with Lily when she was a little girl. Now, pass me the magazine that I asked you to get before we left the house," she bade.

" Here," Harry said eager to see what else she would do.

" Stare at the picture and grab a hold of my hand," she said as soon as she found her desired page.

He did, and then he found himself floating. Pretty soon, the backyard transformed and became the beach in the picture.

" How did we get here?"

" Astral projection," she answered.

" What? That's dangerous. I mean, what if we end up like Professor Binns?" he asked feeling worried.

"We won't. It's natural to inverts like me. Besides, Professor Binns was a novice," she joked.

" But when will we go back?" Harry asked nervously.

" Not a moment too soon. Now, relax and enjoy the scenery a bit."

Harry sat for a second and then excused himself to take a walk down the beach by the ocean. Never had he ever felt so free in his life. He'd wished that Ron and Hermione were there with him. He picked an empty shell up, and then skipped it at the water. Then when he turned to his left, Ron and Hermione ran over to join him.

He stared at them in disbelief. This was impossible. They couldn't be here.

" The beach is so beautiful, isn't it, Harry?" Hermione asked grinning at him.

" Uh, yes," he said, now wishing for them to disappear. This was too weird He closed his eyes for a few instants, and then he opened them to see that they were both gone. He then closed his eyes and wished for Sirius and his parents to be there. He was sure that if his wishing had worked for Ron and Hermione that it would work for his family.

They appeared, and they shared a wonderful picnic for a few hours, until Aunt Petunia came to get him. Harry didn't want to leave. The day was too perfect.

" Harry, we have to go back. We've been gone long enough," she said.

" I don't want to leave. I have everything that I want right here," he protested.

" None of this is real, Harry. I only meant it to be a diversion for you," she explained.

He grew annoyed and then watched his utopia fade. This wasn't fair. He should be allowed to enjoy what he created. He resigned himself to his fate and then took her hand.

When they came back to their bodies, Harry wanted to cry. It had all seemed so real, yet it wasn't. It were almost as if he'd dreamt the whole adventure.

"I was happy there. Why couldn't I stay?" he asked stupidly. He already knew why he couldn't stay. He'd just felt so emotional that he had to say something.

" Because, we have two lives, the one here, and the one there. We were meant to affect things for the better here; although, we can do whatever we want there," she explained.

" Where did you and mum used to go?"

" We'd either go into her 'Captain Howdie' book or into her 'Snow White' coloring magazine. She wanted to stay there too, but I had to bring her back; she always got teary-eyed when I did. It used to break my heart."

" I wish that we could've done this last summer."

" I do too. Perhaps, then you wouldn't have felt so caged."

" And I wouldn't have acted so impulsively and gotten Sirius killed either," he remarked.

"What if I were to tell you that his death wasn't necessarily your fault?"

"What are you saying?"

" You recall the astral adventure that we both just witnessed, right?"

" Yes."

" Well, that's where we all go when we die, unless you're earth-bound, and you have unfinished business. Well, Sirius was impulsive during his life, and he made many a mistake that hurt many a person emotionally. His chance to rectify it came when he went to defend you."

" I don't get it," he said.

"You see; he was destined to die that night any way. He should've died from being given an emetic. That 'thing' in his house was going to bring him a bit of absinthe to calm his nerves, and unbeknownst to him, it was going to lace it with copper salt to induce a toxic seizure that would result in Sirius' death by stroke. However, Fate offered him the chance to mitigate the pain of his passing by performing an act of redemption as payment for his mistakes."

" Sirius wasn't evil!"

" I never said that he was evil. I merely said that he'd behaved recklessly and embittered a few people. His innate nobility and willingness to love you as he did James enabled him to die painlessly and to finally have peace from the torment that he suffered during his last days of life."

" House-elves can't harm their masters," Harry commented. He felt the need to grasp any straw that would allow him to defend Sirius against Petunia's attempts to lessen his pain. He knew that he was at fault.

" But Sirius was excommunicated from his family. The wizarding community takes this ritual very seriously. He only had certain rights as far as that creature was concerned. However, another fully blooded Black who had family honor could've superceeded Sirius and then bade that thing to poison him."

" Knowing all this doesn't make me feel any better," Harry said.

" I know, but that's growing up, facing things that make life all the more guesome. Just rest assure that Sirius is at peace and very happy."

" Aunt Petunia," Harry started.

" Yes?"

" What will you have to do, I mean with reference to your parents?" he asked swallowing a huge lump, regretting his decision to speak so bluntly without thinking.

" I never look at that part. I'd rather it be a surprise," she said, just in time to be knocked unconscious by Peter Pettigrew. Harry reached for his wand, and Peter hit him with the 'Imperius Curse.'

He dragged Petunia inside and then ordered Harry to follow him.

" Good boy, Harry," he said.

Petunia woke and then stared at her sister's betrayer with blood in her eyes.

" You bastard!" she yelled.

" Now, now, Petty. That's not nice," he chided playfully.

" You leave my nephew alone before I …"

" Before you do what exactly?" he asked grinning foully as he pointed the tip of his wand between her eyes.

" You know very well what I can do," she said.

" Which is why I'm not going to do anything to you. Harry is," he said laughing gleefully. " Say goodnight, Petunia. Use the 'Avada Kedavra,' Harry!"

He did, but Petunia leapt out of the way just in time and darted up the stairs. Peter apparated before her and moved to push her back down, but she pulled him causing him to fall to the foot of the staircase.

She ran into her bedroom and then locked the door. She knew that this was a futile gesture, but it would at least buy her the time that she needed to think of something.

Peter regained his momentum and then apparated into the hallway upstairs. He opened each door and searched each bedroom until he entered hers.

" Come out, 'Pretty Petty.' You know that sooner or later Peter Rabbit is going to find you," he teased, but after a few moments had passed, he gave up. Then he got an idea. He knew that Petunia hated rats and harbored a morbid fear of them, so he shifted his form.

He ran into Petunia's closet, and then he skulked about hoping to scare her out into the open space where he could get her. He found her feet and then bit at them causing her to scream, run downstairs, and then outside into her backyard where she seemed to have disappeared completely. He grew frustrated at first, but then he remembered that she was an excellent shapeshifter; so he looked high, and he looked low to be wary of predators like snakes, cats, and birds that could possibly devour him in his Animagus form. Of course, he could always turn back into a man, but he knew that somebody from the Order or the Ministry could possibly identify him if they suspected an attack and arrived before he got the chance to escape.

He looked around him and spotted the shed. She was probably in there. That was a good move, but then again, she couldn't stay in there forever. He scurried around the corner and then burrowed into the garden at the side of the house, where he was sure to catch a glimpse of her whenever she decided to come out.

For all of his clever planning, Peter never once thought to look behind him. He felt something pierce his side like a dart, and then he felt himself go numb with paralysis.

He squeaked in terror as a vine surrounded him and yanked him up to be swallowed in the center of an abnormally huge sunflower.

He could hear his heart race as he neared his final moments. He could even feel the warm wetness flow through the bottom of his immobile form. If there were a time when Pettigrew needed repentance; this was it.

The faces of those he betrayed flashed before him in his mind, as he prepared to fce the eternity of torment that awaited his brethren; liars, thieves, charlatans, traitors, and all other manner of ne'er do wells that'd caused pain during their time on earth.

A huge cracking sound stopped the flower in its tracks. It was Dumbledore and a few others.

" Petunia, no! We can get information from him," he ordered.

" Why're you talkin' to that plant over there, professor," Tonks asked. She got her answer when Dumbledore pointed to the rat that was entangled in its vines.

Petunia turned back and stood clutching Pettigrew's prone form in her hand.

"Bloody hell," Tonks commented looking at Petunia as if she were some kind of freak." What kind of an animagus are you?"

" I'm no Animagus. I'm an invert," she said, hating the sound of that term. It made her think of shirts that were turned wrong side out.

" Blimey, are you really? I mean, I've heard of your kind, but I didn't know that they were real."

" Hey, you two, it's time to skedaddle. Other Death Eaters might be coming," Remus called.

Petunia was happy to see Remus. She ran over to him, said her hellos, and then got packed and fled for Number Twelve. When they arrived, Petunia vowed to let the excitement of being in the magical world engulf her, instead of shunning it like a nun in a cloister.

Harry took the eighth bedroom, and she slept in the seventh beside his. She heard him stir during the middle of the night and walked into his room to feel his head. She ran downstairs to get a white pebble from the front garden. She returned and then placed it in his hand and pressed hers against it likewise. She envisioned a bright white light and then let it course from her into Harry. I began to make headway, until she felt something throw her to the floor just as she reached Harry's cerebral center.

She licked her finger and then walked over to light the candle beside Harry. After it lit, she saw a violet hue pulsate at its center. This wasn't good at all. She crept through the house and then looked for old clothes that may have belonged to the Blacks. She knew that they were the guardians of the house, so she was sure that they would not let any unwholesome force breach it without welcome.

For a brief second, the light from the lanterns blew out around the house, and a brief chill rushed through causing her to shiver. Seconds later, the lanterns came back on, and she turned to see Harry standing behind her looking unusually pale.

She started to ask how he got down there so fast, but them stares into his eyes and gasped in terror. Before she could scream, Harry clenched her by the throat and then lifted her off the ground.

" It's nice to see you again, Petunia," the icy voice said. " Surely you didn't think that you'd escape, did you?"

" No," she rasped, all the while thinking of a way to thwart this murder attempt.

" You must've known that I'd get you sooner or later. Had you remained in your less than satisfactory existence at that ratbox you called a home, I'd have let you be. Although, if I may, watching you waste all the training that I gave you when you came to me all those years ago sickened me. Of all my acolytes, you showed the most promise. In a way, you still do. You see, after I kill you, I'll kill Harry, and this s whole sorry mess will be over.

I will come to rule, and you and your nephew can return to the other side. After all, you always did prefer it there, didn't you, Petty?"

Petunia concentrated on the pulse in her neck and sent the bright light that she used on Harry earlier to his pulse and then formed an aural noose about Voldemort's body. She yanked all three of them from their bodies, and they hovered in mid air.

She could see that Voldemort had Harry in a neck grip as if he planned on snapping his neck. She ascended and tried to pull Harry with her, but Voldemort held Harry by the ankle.

"Don't be afraid, Harry! Pull with everything you've got! He's too scared to follow you up here," she yelled.

" I can't. He won't let go!"

" Then relax and feel yourself slipping through his fingers."

" I can't."

" Do it!"

Ths reminded him of the time that he and his friends had struggled with that Venomous Tentacula in their first year. He stilled himself and then tried to be patient. He felt himself floating up, and then he felt a shapr pain pierce his ankle. He turned to look below him and saw Lord Voldemort hooking his foot with a set of red claws.

Petunia knew that she had to do something and do it fast. She opened her arms to suck in astral light from the air around her, formed it in the shape of a whip, and then she lashed it down at Voldemort. He retreated without any effect, but that didn't matter. She'd gotten Harry free of him. She pulled the gesture again, this time coiling it around him as he screamed in agony, and then watched Voldemort disapparate in a puff of green smoke.

She pushed Harry back down into his body and then followed him back down to hers.

They shook their disoriented feeling and rose to return to bed. Harry screamed in pain, and she helped him over to the table. It was his ankle.

Mrs. Weasley heard the fuss and came downstairs.

" What have you done to him?" she asked angrily.

" Nothing, Mrs. Weasley. She just helped me. I had another nightmare attack," she said.

" Yes, and he was hurt in the struggle," Petunia said.

The others soon descended the stairs instants later, and both Harry and Petunia found them selves explaining their ordeal.

Harry slept most of the day, and woke from s the best rest that he'd had in a while.

His aunt gave him tea and beignets for a snack and then stroked his head to feel for any signs that Voldemort might still be there. When she saw that there were none, she rested her head atop his and shared in his feeling of dread with refereence to awaiting possible death. She sighed and then took comfort in the thought that they'd at least be together if it happened.


End file.
